The NC Medical Board spends much of its resources licensing physicians and disciplining or correcting those who practice poorly. Too rarely does the Board have an opportunity to applaud a physician for showcasing
the true definition of professionalism.

The Board did just that recently, when it honored William A. Derrick, MD, of Boone, for his invaluable assistance to the patients of a physician who abruptly closed his practice in July 2011 and left the country. Dr. Derrick, a retired family physician who was a longtime director of Student Health Services at Appalachian State University, stepped forward and offered to take temporary custody of the abandoned patient records. Working with a Board investigator and attorney, Dr. Derrick arranged for the records to be moved to Blowing Rock Hospital. With the help of his wife, Liz, he worked for several months, often under less than ideal conditions, to locate patient records and get them to their owners. Their efforts helped hundreds of patients who would otherwise have lost their records obtain their files.

NCMB President Ralph C. Loomis, MD, and R. David Henderson, the NCMB’s executive director, attended a meeting of the Watauga County Medical Society in May to surprise Dr. Derrick with a plaque recognizing his service to the Board, the profession and the patients of the high country.

The NC Medical Board is grateful to Dr. Derrick for his efforts and his commitment to North Carolina patients.